The glossy black look on the NADs is the commonly used piano black finish that you can often find on some home audio speakers and is popular among some speakerphiles. For example, I have the Mirage branded version of this Energy subwoofer with the same finish: http://www.energy-speakers.com/subwoofers/?sku=V-SW10. So while you may not like it aesthetically, it is a "premium appearance" style. I don't personally like that finish myself on headphones or speakers, either. Not because I don't think it looks good, but it is impractical, IMO. Shows fingerprints and dust (hard to keep clean), and is prone to scratching somewhat easily.